I wrote a blog post the last week of October, about how I was going through the most emotionally draining week of my life.
Then, the next couple weeks happened.
The young woman from our church with an incompetent uterus, gave birth to her baby Edmund, 3 months premature, a few hours after I posted that blog entry. Edmund's struggle has been day-by-day as we have prayed for his heart and lungs to stop bleeding, for him to remain calm and stop fighting the machines that are meant to stabilize him and as we continue to pray that he will not have brain damage. They have their second 'family meeting' today and our church continues to rally around this young family.
My dad has been in hospital since October 31. He had brain surgery on November 5 and is recovering. The doctor is certain it is cancer, because of the sudden onset of symptoms - my mom (and the rest of us) are waiting to see what the lab results say. He is remaining in hospital, his memory is affected and he is very weak, especially on his right side. An upside to the whole situation: he appears to have forgotten he likes to smoke, he hasn't asked for one since surgery - almost a week ago!
My brother Daniel is living in Switzerland and is faced with the reality of losing a dad that he only just met, five years ago.
My nana cannot share Papi's health concerns with my papa, because he is too sick. Earlier this year she had to put papa in a care home, after living as a married couple for over 60 years, I cannot even imagine what she is going through.
My mom continues to be the strongest person I know, working her job, taking care of her grandson and visiting my dad, daily, at the hospital. My mom is an inspiration to me and I don't tell her that near often enough. I have shared our family's struggle with so many people and everyone's response is complete admiration for my mother. Mami, you inspire people you don't even know, and the ones who do know you do not tell you often enough. Just like nana is to Papi's family, you are the rock of faith, courage and determination in our little cluster of family. You amaze me.
The Psalms are 150 chapters of goodness in the centre of our Bible. They have helped me through so much over the years and in my daily devotions, they keep popping up as the passage to reflect on. I love how God plants those little nuggets in our lives, he gives us just what we need, when we need it.
As for the man I wrote about who has flesh-eating disease, you can follow his family's journey here.
God continues to sustain the three families in this post: Aaron, Tabitha and Edmund, Nathan, Aileen and their children, and my extended family.
God is so good.
No comments:
Post a Comment